


Taking Chances

by Bara_no_Uta



Series: A Thousand Years [1]
Category: Demi Lovato Path to Fame
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, MC's POV, POV First Person, unnamed MC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 15:36:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5422508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bara_no_Uta/pseuds/Bara_no_Uta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternate to 2x12. Ryland knows she made a terrible mistake, but she's willing to apologize and earn back your trust. After everything that's happened, you recognize that breaking up with Taylor was probably for the best... but can you trust Ryland again? (This is the start of my AU, which I'm titling A Thousand Years. Future fics in the AU will be set after this.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Case You Change Your Mind

**Author's Note:**

> I was really not happy with 2x11 and 2x12. They seemed ridiculous and forced, and the "reveal" of Ryland's "true colors" contradicts everything and has zero foreshadowing until that point. There are SO many things that it's like... okay, if she was really just using MC, why would she say/do that? Also don't even get me started on the fact that Taylor/Alex doesn't want to date you, doesn't want to talk to you, doesn't even want to look at you, then goes "of course I'll marry you"... Personally, I think that this AU actually makes more sense, to be quite honest, though I'm obviously biased.

            So, here I am, having shut myself in my room again. I wish I could at least channel this into songs, but how do you write about losing your inspiration? It was nothing like how she made it sound today, but it’s true that I wouldn’t have been able to write my single, let alone my entire album, without Ryland for inspiration. Even my first single was about Taylor. And now? Taylor won’t have anything to do with me. I won’t have anything to do with Ryland. I could probably talk to one of my other tour mates, for support if not inspiration, but I think I need a bit of space.

            I just need to figure out what to do about all of this. I… Honestly, I hadn’t realized just how much I had fallen for Ryland. And even though I never wanted to lose Taylor… I mean, we haven’t talked in like a month until now. The last time anyone answered one of my calls to her phone was that ‘Sexy Kitten,’ who was there while Taylor was in the shower! And the time we saw each other – the party – hadn’t exactly gone the best. Partly because she kept brushing me off. Partly because of Ryland’s…

            No, I guess I can’t blame that on Ryland. She had flirted with me a bit before that point, but I guess it’s not her fault that I took it seriously. And…

            When I really think about it, I guess things with Ryland really did only escalate as much as I let them. …Great. So not only did she use me, but I completely let her. But she just seemed so genuine. It’s hard to wrap my head around the idea that the woman who said she just wants me to be happy, and that she thinks I’m the most amazing person in the world, and so much more… Even when we were in private. Even in times and ways that make no sense in light of our interview from today. I don’t know how to reconcile those things. But I guess I don’t really have any other option. I just have to accept that all the things Ryland said and did until now were just lies. And as for Taylor… with her ignoring me and whatnot, it breaks my heart really badly to admit it to myself, but this might be for the best. Especially with me having gotten feelings for someone else. Even if she didn’t cheat… Honestly, I know I did. Not just physically with the kiss, but emotionally. That’s why I tried so hard to convince myself that I felt nothing romantic toward Ryland. But that didn’t really work, obviously, even though it sure would have been better if it had.

            Even if it’s probably for the better, it still feels terrible to break up with the girl you used to consider your ‘home,’ and I really did mean it when I said she’s wonderful. I guess we just… weren’t meant to be. I guess me and Ryland weren’t, either.

            I start to reach for another Kleenex – I swear I’ve done nothing but cry ever since that conversation – but pause when I hear a knock on my door. I look toward it, expecting perhaps Demi or Lara to come in. But the door doesn’t open, nor does anybody even speak to identify themselves. Instead, a piece of paper slides under the door, and then, after a moment of perhaps hesitation, I hear the click of heels on the floor as the other person walks away. Technically all that means is that it’s probably safe to assume it wasn’t Danny, but I have a bad feeling I know exactly who it is. I can’t imagine why Demi, Lara, or Holly – or anyone else who I’m not upset with – would leave without saying a word like that. Danny might, since I could see him feeling like he just didn’t know what to say, but I can’t exactly imagine him knowing how to walk naturally in heels, or envision some reason why he would be wearing any right now, of all times. So… pretty much, there’s no doubt that it’s Ryland. But what does she want now? If that paper suggests I reconsider or something, I’m seriously going to tear it up. Maybe I shouldn’t even bother reading it. I mean, every single word she’s said to me until after that interview was a lie, right? What benefit is there even to reading whatever she has to say now?

            And yet I pick it up and bring it back with me to my bed, where I hold it face-down. I still can’t quite decide whether I actually _want_ to read it, but I guess I will anyway. I feel like I should at least know what it says. So, I resign myself to reading it, even if I’m less than enthused.

            It’s written in plain black ink and on regular lined paper. Maybe even the paper from her lyrics notebook. Something about the lack of Ryland-style flair makes it seem… serious. Well, as it should be. If she had just tried to brush this off as not serious, I really wouldn’t know what to say. Even more than is already the case.

            After taking a deep breath, I start to read the letter.

            _Ma cherie,_

            I almost stop there. Even now, she’s using those terms of endearment which apparently mean absolutely nothing to her? Whatever. I decided I would read it, so I will.

            _I can’t even begin to express my apologies._

            Whatever she’s apologizing for, exactly, I don’t care. Even if she finally recognizes that she messed up, I’m not changing my mind. Sorry isn’t going to fix the fact that she lied to, manipulated, and used me. Just like sorry didn’t fix things with Taylor.

            _I never meant to hurt you._

Seriously? She said that- ugh, I should just hear her out, I guess, if that’s what I’m going to do. It’s just one letter. If I want, I can probably spend the rest of my life after this ignoring her. I hope I can do that. So I can read this letter first, at least. From there… I don’t have to do anything else. I’ll hear what she has to say here, and that’s all.

            _Perhaps it was naïveté of my own, but I really had not realized you weren’t simply acting. I knew you were still seeing Taylor, so when you seemed interested in me as well, I assumed it must not be genuine._

_So I thought we were using each other, and I told myself that was fine. But I would rather have something real with you than using you. That wasn’t my intent from the beginning, even if I ended up accepting it happening. I meant the things I said before. The things before today._

_The truth is, I don’t always think before I act. I forget myself when there are cameras on me. I’ve been known to say the wrong thing on more than a few occasions. I push people away at times._

_I’m not typically inclined to open up to people, but after what I put you through, you deserve the truth. Do with it what you will._

            In the bottom left side, it’s signed _probablement un fou qui est malade d’amour_ , whatever that means.

            That’s… sort of a lot to digest. But how do I know she’s even being honest right now? It doesn’t entirely explain what in the world happened today, and even if it casts doubts on the matter, it doesn’t exactly give any proof that what happened today wasn’t a display of her true colors, or even if they’re not, that we won’t have similar issues come up in the future.

            Placing the letter on my nightstand, I reflect some more on our interactions until now. I’ve been doing that a lot today. And honestly, I’ve yet to find any signs that should have tipped me off before now. All I’ve found are tons of things that just don’t make sense in light of it.

            Well… there was how she acted after we kissed. When she said that sometimes when one likes someone the most they say the wrong thing, I knew that’s what she was apologizing for, but today I started to wonder if her “easily forgotten” comment really was the truth. But now, it seems certain that wasn’t the case at all. She had pushed me away and then sincerely – I think – apologized.

            Anything else was always in front of the press, which… Well, it’s impossible to deny that she’s always acted a little differently when cameras are around, or at least in the entire time I’ve known her. So… today really does just seem odd and out of character for her.

            …Maybe I should go talk to her. I have no idea what I’m going to say or what I’d want her to say, but I guess her letter deserves a response, if nothing else.

            I attempt to make myself look presentable, then go to Ryland’s room. I’ll admit, I’m pretty nervous to talk to her, considering how our last conversation went. Her letter did seem pretty genuine, but… that’s usually the case with her. It’s impossible for me to tell when she’s lying versus when she’s telling the truth, which is exactly the problem here. But what she said in her letter would make sense with that, so…

            I still hesitate a while longer before deciding that all I’m doing by standing here is making myself even more nervous, so finally, I knock on the door. “Ryland?” I say, wanting her to know that it’s me.

            There’s a long enough pause that I start to wonder if she’s not in her room, but after a few seconds, Ryland opens the door.

            I look at her, almost, but my eyes quickly dart away. I know I still look like kind of a mess, and that there’s no way she wouldn’t be able to tell that from this close.

            She doesn’t say anything of it though, stepping aside and holding the door open for me to enter, and I do so. Even then, I just stand there awkwardly, just past the doorway. I’m startled into looking up by a light touch on my arm, and it’s only then that I see that Ryland is now standing opposite me. “We can sit if you’d like,” she offers, looking like she feels just as nervous as I do.

            I nod, and she sits down on her bed, reaching out for my hand. I still pull it away. I’m a little inclined to accept, but we need to talk about this before I can let her think I’ve forgiven her. Because I haven’t. I’m closer to it now – as in, I’m actually seeing it as a possibility – but I definitely need more information before I can make a decision. I do sit fairly close to her, though. And then: “Thank you for the letter.”

            She smiles, though it’s tinged with very obvious uncertainty. I know by now that she could almost definitely hide it if she was so inclined, so maybe she’s being open with me right now? But she could also be faking it, for all I know. So there’s that. “I’m glad you were willing to read it,” she admits.

            “I haven’t quite forgiven you yet,” I say, mentally cringing at the sudden and blunt semi-rejection but also the all-too-obvious indication that I may be willing to forgive her. “I can’t. Not until I have reason to believe I can trust you,” I tell her. It’s risky to tell her that, I can’t help but to think. If she really is manipulating me, then that would tell her exactly what she needs to do in order to be successful again. Still, the genuine-seeming interactions we had before are enough to give me reason to reconsider in light of her letter. They’re the reason she’s getting a second chance… even if she is still on thin ice. “I need to feel sure that what you said earlier today was the real lie, and I need to know that nothing like that will happen again. If you can prove that to me, then… we can go from there.”

            It sounds pretty harsh to my ears if she is genuine, but I won’t back down. I’m not going to let myself be manipulated or used or put down. And if she doesn’t care enough to be willing to earn back my trust, then I think it’s definitely best for me just to move on. More importantly, someone just attempting to use someone else probably wouldn’t go to all the trouble of earning back their trust when they could more easily just find somebody new. I feel sort of bad, but it’s the only way I feel like I can know I can trust her.

            She looks relieved, though, as opposed to frustrated or impatient or something, which is a good sign. “I understand. Is there anything I can do to help you trust me?”

            It’s a question that warrants a lot of serious thought. But to be quite honest, I hadn’t really thought that far ahead yet. Still, I can come up with a couple basics pretty easily. “First of all, don’t lie to me. At all. About anything.” I make eye contact as I say that, wanting her to know that I mean that completely. Things went downhill with Taylor when we stopped being honest with each other, and I don’t think honesty is too much to ask. If she can’t commit to that, we won’t work. …I almost can’t believe I’m still considering being romantically involved with Ryland again, but I still feel too much toward her to be able to be just friends…

            “I promise,” she agrees, after a small pause of thought but no hesitance, as far as I can tell.

            “Past that… How can I know that you won’t act… like you did today, in front of the press again?” Because seriously, what happened earlier was not okay in the slightest. And her word isn’t going to be enough to cut it after today, at least not for a while.

            She doesn’t seem that sure herself, as she goes into thought. “Because I realized how much it hurt you,” she says after a while, voice soft. She’s averted her eyes, looking guilty. “Perhaps it ought to have been obvious. Je ne sais pas. –I… don’t know.” She looks sincerely upset, but there’s still part of me that can’t help thinking about the possibility that it’s just an act. “I can’t change what’s happened. If I could… I would never have pushed things for the press. Time doesn’t go backward, but we can avoid repeating our mistakes. I don’t want to hurt you again.”

            “Okay.” Maybe I’m too easily convinced. Maybe I really am naïve and too trusting, and maybe I’ll regret giving her another chance. Not that I’m letting things go immediately back to how close I thought we were before any of today’s stuff happened. But… I’m willing to forgive her, as long as she doesn’t give me any more reasons not to. “I’m… not really sure how to proceed from here, but one step at a time, I think.”

            She smiles, looking back up at me. “Thank you. For giving me a second chance.”

            I don’t really stop to question my action before doing it: I reach out to give her a hug, and she accepts. We linger for a while, and I can’t help the thought that it feels so… sincere. Everything always did with her, until we got in front of the press. That… Well, that was always a different story. So it’s not too hard to believe, maybe, that this was no exception. That doesn’t make this okay, though. I still need her to earn my trust back.

            After a while, I pull away. “I’m gonna go for now, but… I’ll see you tomorrow.” I smile at her, and she smiles back.

           But now I really should leave, because I think I need some space to sort out my thoughts again, or something. To figure out how I feel about letting myself trust her again, and how I think I can gauge her trustworthiness.

            As I’m heading back to my room, I see Demi, who looks happy to see me. “There you are! I’ve been looking for you,” she says. “I heard you seemed pretty upset after that interview. What happened?”

            …Oh. My heart warms that Demi cared enough to seek me out to help. And honestly, it might help to talk it over with someone. …I don’t like to talk too much about people to others, but I trust Demi, so I think it’s fine to tell her about it. I’ll keep most of the contents of that letter to myself, though. I look around. We’re alone, but we’re still in the hallway just outside my room. I make a small gesture toward the door. “Could we talk about it privately?”

            She nods. “Of course.”

            So we go into my room, and I shut the door behind us. I wouldn’t feel right for anyone to overhear, even if we are a family and it’s rather difficult to keep anything private on tour together anyway. I start out with the simplest part. “Well… first of all, I guess Taylor and I really are done.”

            “Oh… I’m sorry to hear that,” Demi says, and I remember her saying that she thought Taylor and I were good together, too. I wonder what she thinks of me now… But she doesn’t really seem to think less of me, so I guess it’s fine.

            “That’s not what I’m upset about, though,” I admit. “I mean… well, partly, but…” I sigh. “Like I told you at the premiere, things haven’t really been going that well with us for a while now. I guess this is for the best.”

            Demi looks at me a moment before prompting, “I’m sensing a ‘but’?”

            “…But that’s not even what I’m most upset about. I’m sorry, that probably sounds terrible, I know; I’ve been with Taylor forever, but I’ve been upset with her ever since-” Since Sexy Kitten answered the phone because Taylor was in the shower, and Taylor never answered her phone herself to give me the opportunity to talk to her. But Demi doesn’t know about that, and I guess at this point she doesn’t need to. “The details don’t matter anymore, I guess. The point is, I’m not sure we worked as well as we used to… and maybe we could have worked things out, if we really tried, but… I guess I feel like this might be for the best.” I look away. Just because it’s for the best doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.

            “If that’s what you think is best, I support your decision,” Demi says, maybe guessing that I’m thinking about the advice she gave me at the beginning of today’s sound check.

            “Thanks, Demi. That means a lot to me.”

            “But you still haven’t answered what you _are_ most upset about.”

            …Oh, god. This is a lot more complicated… “Basically, Ryland… well… It was a big drama.” Before I can stop myself, even though I had initially wanted to hold back the details as much as I could, the full situation comes pouring forth. “She made me look ridiculous, again, and she told the whole world about – something that should have stayed private, and then she outright _lied_ about when I wrote the single, even though she’d been so supportive until then! And afterwards, when I asked her what the heck that was all about, she said she had just been using me. That she was surprised I was taking what we – what I thought we had – seriously! That it was all just about fame. She pretty much outright said that I was meaningless to her.”

            I stop for a moment, noticing how surprised Demi looks, before listing the counter-arguments. “On the other hand… She apologized, and she told me that she just gets, you know, not really herself in front of the press and says stuff she doesn’t really mean. She really did seem sorry, but even if that’s true, I don’t know how to trust that it won’t happen again. But more than just that, how do I know she hasn’t really just been manipulating me all along, and isn’t still?” I sigh. “She’s been so wonderful that the only thing that I can even find as something to be suspicious about, even in hindsight, is that the whole thing seems too good to be true, but…”

            Demi seems to be thinking it over, and I finally stop to give her a chance to respond. “They say that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s just been using you. If it feels like what she said today was the lie, then that could be the case. Unfortunately, the only way to let someone prove you can trust them is to give them chances… and there probably isn’t any way to know with certainty. If you think you’d like to trust her, and you think you have reason to, I think you should follow your heart.”

            “You’re right,” I agree. Demi always seems to know what to say. “I just wish there was some way I could know for sure, you know?”

            “Of course. That’s only natural, especially when someone’s let you down. In the end, it’s up to you. Personally, I haven’t really noticed anything about her in private, but I have to agree that she can act a bit odd when it comes to the press. If you’d like, I can talk to her about that, and see if maybe we can figure out a way for her to be herself.”

            I grin. “I would appreciate that a lot. And… well, I think that would be better for her, too. You taught me really early on that I shouldn’t lose sight of who I am and what’s important to me, and I’ve really valued that. I guess everyone is different, but… it really doesn’t sound fun to live a double life for the press.”

            She grins back. “I’m glad to know what an impact that made, and that it’s been helpful. I’ll let you know how I think talking to Ryland goes.”

            “Thanks, Demi.”

            “It’s no problem. Hang in there – we’ll get this figured out.”


	2. Hand into the Flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the moment of truth: another interview with Ryland. Will she prove herself, or will it all fall apart?

            I take a deep breath, attempting to calm my nerves a bit. Normally I don’t get performance anxiety or anything, but… Well, this is different. Because this time, I’m doing another interview with Ryland. For the first time after… the disastrous one. She hasn’t given me any more reasons to doubt her, so I’m fine with it, but I feel like this is where that’s going to really be put to the test. Demi said she thinks things will be fine with Ryland, and I trust her judgment, but it can be hard to predict what the press will throw at us, and Ryland isn’t exactly the most predictable person in the world. Which is one of the things I really like about her, though…

            …Yes, I’ve still completely got feelings for Ryland. That’s hardly a surprise, though. Related, I still haven’t spoken to Taylor at all. I feel really bad about how things ended between us, but I don’t think it could have been helped. It’s definitely too late now. I don’t regret that we broke up, actually; now that I’ve had some space, I feel pretty certain about my decision that it’s what needed to happen, Ryland or not. I just regret how much she got hurt in the process.

            Alright, it’s showtime, so to speak. Ryland appears by my side, and when I look over, she offers a hesitant smile. I can see that she’s nervous, so as I smile back, I reach for her hand and give it a small squeeze. I don’t want to invite assumptions by the press, however, so I release her hand before stepping into the crowded room.

            And so the barrage of questions begins. “This is the first time you two have been seen together since your last interview. What happened?”

            That question hardly comes as a surprise, and I’d actually thought a little bit about what to say in response to it. I don’t really want to advertise that Ryland and I had a brief falling out, for lack of a better word, over it. Nor do I want to make it public knowledge that she lied, or any of that. “Well, it’s not like we haven’t spoken or anything,” I begin, downplaying the severity of it. I’m about to say more, but it seems they have more pressing love life questions for me.

            “Is it true you’ve broken up with Taylor?”

            “Yes-” I’m interrupted before I can get anything else out.

            “For Ryland?”

            In all fairness, I probably should have seen that coming, too. I glance over to Ryland, whose poker face is as good as ever, but I get the sense that the question makes her feel uncomfortable too. At least she isn’t talking over me, although she hasn’t said a word so far. I really hope she doesn’t feel like she can’t say anything at all or something. Then again, we’re still really early on in the interview, so I probably shouldn’t start worrying yet. It’s just, I can’t help thinking about the fact that she actually looked nervous before we stepped out here, and that’s so rare for her. As for the current question, well… honestly, yeah, that’s kind of the truth. For the sake of Taylor’s reputation and in an effort to avoid further questions about my relationship with Ryland, which I guess one could probably best describe as currently broken up, I want to be more diplomatic about it, though. “Taylor and I had some incompatibilities. In the end, we decided we would prefer to go our separate ways.”

            “And it had nothing to do with Ryland? –Ryland, you’ve been pretty quiet today. Is it because of something between the two of you?”

            Uh oh. This feels like the moment of truth, as she has to pretty much put me or herself in an awkward position. Or outright lie.

            And she hesitates, looking at me, then back at the paparazzi. “The truth is, I went too far in our last interview,” she admits after a few seconds, and I have to be careful not to let my surprise show. “I shouldn’t have said any of what I did. I regret that, so I want to make sure I don’t do that again.”

            My heart flutters at her honestly, especially because, although she doesn’t let it on, I know that couldn’t have been easy for her. It seems that she’s _really_ good at hiding her feelings; if I didn’t know her as well as I do, I probably wouldn’t even be aware just how difficult that probably was.

            Not that the paparazzi care about that. “Was she mad at you, then?”

            I sort of feel like she shouldn’t have to answer that question, plus I have something really important I want to say about it, so I step in. “I wasn’t exactly happy about it, no. But everybody makes mistakes.” I look over at her and see her looking back at me, hope in her eyes. “She knows that she shouldn’t have said those things and wants to make sure she doesn’t repeat her mistake, so how could I hold it against her?”

            Ryland looks touched, and her smile seems genuine again.

            The press won’t let us have our moment though, of course. It’ll have to wait until later, I suppose. _Hopefully_ we can have it later… Well, I think we can. Just as long as no more drama pops up, so we’ll see what the chances of that are. “So was what she said last time the truth?”

            Ryland answers with a shake of her head. I was going to try to come up with a way to protect both our reputations, if there’s any way for that to be possible here, but it seems like she’s got something in mind already. “No. The truth is that she wrote the song all on her own. I offered feedback here and there when she was stuck, but I can’t – shouldn’t – take more credit than that. She’s brilliant, and I do mean that.” She smiles warmly at me.

            Before we can get interrupted again, I admit, “Ryland was more help than just that, though. With the lack of time because of the tour, I had a lot of trouble finding the inspiration to write. I… don’t think I could have done it without her.” I think back to when we were in Paris, and she told me the story of how she found her voice, and how supportive she always was, and all the times she helped me out when I got stuck. She was, without a doubt, one of the biggest helps I’ve had with this album. That and when everybody got together to help me write. …My tour family really is amazing. And that includes Ryland.

            “And the kiss she mentioned?”

            I blush. “Well, that was the truth.” Well, it wasn’t exactly to thank her. Actually, it, uh… well, it was definitely out of sincere romantic feelings. On my part if nothing else, and I think hers as well. But I doubt they care about that. What interests them, I think, is just the fact that we kissed at all.

            The rest of the interview goes without incident, thank goodness, but I still breathe a sigh of relief when Ryland and I are finally alone again.

            She smiles, though it seems just a bit uncertain. Probably because she knows we’re about to talk about what happened before again, which hasn’t typically exactly been the most pleasant topic. But she needn’t worry, at least not as far as I’m concerned. We do have to address it, of course, but this time, it’s all good news.

            “Thank you,” I say, reaching to hold her hands. “For being so honest. I know that couldn’t have been easy, and it means a lot to me.”

            Her smile softens, no traces of worry left in it. “That’s why it was worth it,” she replies. She moves one of her hands away to cup my cheek. “I owed you a proper apology. And your happiness is worth more to me than anything else. I should never have lost sight of that. Press or no.”

            I really want to kiss her… “Well, like I said, I forgive you. I still need you to be honest with me, because I think that’s really important, but I… I think I can trust you again.” I smile tentatively.

            Ryland beams. “I won’t let you down again,” she promises.

            I’m going to hold her to that, of course. If she pulls another stunt that implies she’s just using me, we’re definitely going to be done. But I’m going to trust my instincts. It’s like Demi said: you can never know for certain. I think that at a certain point you just have to take that leap and hope for the best, and I think I feel sure enough of her again to do that. So in response, I kiss her.

            Kissing her is… magical. Everything just feels right when I’m with her. So when we pull away, I smile as I ask, “Could we be together again? I mean, as girlfriends.” Even though we weren’t together very long at all before we sort of broke up. But that’s in the past now, so I’d be okay with picking up where we left off. …No, not where we left off. Better than where we left off.

           “I would love that,” she replies, her smile making my heart flutter in the way Ryland always seems able to do. “ _Ma belle princesse,_ ” she murmurs before kissing me again.

            I melt into her. I feel her arms around my waist, pulling me closer, and I wrap my arms around her as well. It feels perfect. Like the storybook… _fairytale_ romance I always dreamed of as a little girl. It seems I never really outgrew wanting that, even if as I grew older I assumed that was impossible. And it’s true that nobody is perfect, including Ryland. But she’s _wonderful_ , and I can’t believe how lucky I am.

            I still remember when she told me that her childhood stories never had girls like me in them, and if they did, she would still be reading them now. …I remember a lot of things she’s said. Ryland has a way of always making me feel so special…

           I’m completely lost in the kiss… lost in _her_. No surprise there. It’s all too easy to let that happen with Ryland, somehow.

            It’s a while before we break the kiss. When we do, she says. “ _Tu es merveilleux._ ” Her voice is tender and makes me wish I knew what she had just said.

            I do think about reminding her that I don’t speak a word of French, but I can’t really bring myself to complain. I think it’s pretty cliché of me, but I really do like it when she speaks to me in French. It just sounds so… beautiful. More than her voice already does no matter what she’s saying. I do also kind of wish I could understand what she’s saying, though. Based on her tone, I think I would be quite flattered by it. I’m okay with just having that much, though.

            It’s sort of spontaneous, but in response to whatever she said, and just her in general, I tell her, “You’re wonderful.”

            She looks surprised, and then laughs. “Are you sure you don’t speak any French?”

            Huh? I don’t get it. Now I really want to know what she said…

            Ryland must see my confusion, or at least be able to guess it, because she quickly clarifies the reason for her question. “That’s exactly what I said. That you’re wonderful.”

            I blush. “I really don’t know a word of French.”

            “Good. Otherwise I’d have to switch to Italian.” Her tone and smile make it obvious she’s just teasing, but to be quite honest, I don’t really get the joke. It somehow seems… very Ryland, though. Wanting to say things just so that I can’t understand them, or something.

            But, again… Cliché though it is, I’m hardly about to complain, as long as they’re not bad things that she’s saying. I’m a little too embarrassed to admit that outright, but I still say, “Well, I don’t really mind it. …I mean, you’re saying good things, right?” That’s definitely what it sounds like, so the question is more or less rhetorical.

            “Of course. I know I’ve teased you a bit in the past, but the truth is, I don’t truly have anything bad to say about you. I really do think that highly of you, ma cherie.”

            She smiles at me, and of course I blush again, though saying she teased me ‘a bit’ is definitely an understatement. …But I trust her. I’m sort of curious, to tell the truth, as to what she’s saying. Though somehow, I don’t really mind not knowing. Maybe it’s the mystery of it, or something. “Too bad I can’t speak to you in a foreign language, too,” I muse.

            Ryland seems amused by this. “What would you say, if you could?”

            “Probably exactly what you say to me in French,” I tease. That’s pretty much a complete guess, of course, considering that I don’t actually have any idea what she’s saying to me. But I only have good things to say about her, too, at the moment, so that seems pretty likely.

            She laughs. “Well, I wouldn’t object to that. …If you ever feel like learning a new language, it can come in handy, especially when you’re traveling. I’d offer to teach you, but I suppose now you would prefer to know one I don’t?” She sounds mostly serious until the end, when an eyebrow rises and her tone lilts, playful.

            I laugh as well, but I’m out of banter on the subject for the moment, unfortunately. “I might like to learn one someday. I’ve always kind of wanted to study some language, but I could never decide which one, so I never really got the chance.”

            She nods, then asks, “Quali lingue ti interessano?”

            I blink. “That’s not French, right?” I take a stab at guessing, even though I have no way of knowing for sure: “Is that… Italian?”

            Ryland looks surprised. “I think you’d be a natural! You have a good ear for languages.”

            I grin, but stay modest: “Just a lucky guess.” At least, I’m assuming I must have guessed right, based on her reaction.

            “I bet it is more than that… but I suppose we won’t know until you start to learn. My question was, what languages are you interested in learning?”

            “Well, um…” I hesitate, face warming just a little. “I mean, now I’m kind of interested in French…” There’s a silent explanation that it’s because of her that I think is obvious even without directly being stated, but she looks flattered by it, so I’m not too embarrassed. “Before that, I don’t know. Spanish, Greek, Japanese, Latin, sign language…”

            “French and Spanish I can do,” she says. “The others, not so much. Though, I suppose we could always learn together.”

            It’s really hard to decide, but as for what would make the most sense, I think it would be… “Would you teach me French?” I request, a little hesitant.

            She acts like she has to give it some thought, but I can see the amusement in her eyes and know she’s just pretending. “Hm… Secret romantic conversations with you in French? Sounds fun~”

            “You’re too much,” I laugh. That does sound kind of fun though…

            “Et tu es trop parfait.”

            The way she’s looking at me makes it seem like she said something really romantic, but the truth is that all I understood was parfait. Which I’m pretty sure means something different in this case, because as much as I love ice cream… I’m pretty sure she’s not talking about desserts here. My best friend has clearly rubbed off on me, however, because I can’t quite stop myself from blurting out, “We should get parfaits sometime.”

            For a moment she looks a bit surprised and confused, but then she starts to laugh quite a bit. “Perhaps we should. Parfait sounds… perfect.”

            The amount of amusement in that makes me think she knows something I don’t. That something probably being whatever she actually meant by parfait.

            “Here is your first French lesson,” she says, probably picking up on my confusion. “Parfait can mean the dessert, but typically it means ‘perfect.’”

            “Oh. So when you said…” That was a pun. Explaining the joke makes it a little less funny, probably, but I share in some of her amusement anyway.

            She shrugs, smirking, before seeming to think of something. “Though, actually, we haven’t had an official first date yet, have we?” It’s a rhetorical question. There are definitely things that I might count as dates in hindsight, but I didn’t exactly think of them as such at the time. “I’d say it’s past time we change that. What do you think?”

            “Definitely,” I agree. Even though it probably wouldn’t be all that different from anything we’ve done before on our sort-of-dates… to tell the truth, just the thought of going on an official date with Ryland makes my heart flutter. “I would love that.”

            “Well then, next time we’ll have enough free time in a city… Let’s plan on that.” She smiles, seeming just a little shy as she says, “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

            “Me too.” With traveling and whatnot, there isn’t always a guarantee that we’ll have enough time. I don’t mind waiting, though. Just being with Ryland is… a dream come true.

            As for right now… unfortunately we’re interrupted by my phone ringing, which definitely breaks the romantic mood. I’m pretty used to that, though, by this point. I automatically look – ignored phone calls have caused me a lot of trouble in this career. And I’m glad I did, because it’s Callie. “It’s my sister,” I tell Ryland. I’m a little apologetic as I ask, “Do you mind if I take this?”

            She shakes her head. “Not at all. We can talk more later.”

            “Thanks.” As Ryland walks away, I answer Callie’s call. I can’t wait to fill her in on my relationship with Ryland…! She’ll be so excited to hear about this. My real-life fairytale…


End file.
